Thursday Papers: BoE report pushes rate rise bets back

Top stories

Financial Times: The Bank of England has halved its wage growth forecast for this year, leaving financial markets betting that UK interest rates will not be raised until 2015.

The Daily Telegraph: UK government can sue French bank over 'mis-selling' to Northern Rock as Societe Generale allegedly mis-sold financial products to the bank that were partly to blame for UK bank's collapse.

The Guardian: The Bank of England is making emergency plans in case a yes vote in Scotland's independence referendum threatens the stability of sterling, bank governor Mark Carney has disclosed.

Financial Times: European companies have lashed out at the Chinese government’s renewed crackdown on alleged violations of the country’s anti-monopoly law, saying that they have been subject to “intimidation tactics” by officials who have unfairly targeted foreign businesses.

Financial Times: Cisco Systems launched a fresh round of job cuts that will hit 6,000 workers, taking the total cuts to 18,000 in the last three years as it struggles to reposition its business in new markets in pursuit of growth.

The Daily Telegraph: Barclays could face extra £1.2 billion in legal costs and fines; British bank has already set aside more than £1.2 billion to cover the cost of mis-selling payment protection insurance and other legacy matters.

The Guardian: Hopes for a recovery in the eurozone suffered another blow on Wednesday with figures showing industrial output fell for a second successive month.

Daily Mail: UK Chancellor George Osborne has ruled out a pre-election sale of Lloyds shares to the general public amid the growing crises in the Ukraine and the Middle East; Treasury officials and UK Financial Investments, which manages the taxpayers’ stake in Lloyds, have decided that a sell-off to retail investors - earmarked for the autumn - is now too risky.

Business and economics

Financial Times: The number of eastern Europeans employed in Britain from countries such as Poland, Latvia and Lithuania has increased by more than a quarter in the past year, in a sign that the strengthening economy is luring more migrants into the UK.

Financial Times: Buyer demand for property fell for the first time in a year and half in July, suggesting the acceleration in house prices may slow towards the end of the year; in London, which has seen annual increases of 20%, indicators such as sales queries were “going into reverse”, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyor.

Financial Times: Japan has suffered its worst economic contraction since the earthquake and tsunami more than three years ago, providing evidence that consumer and business confidence remains fragile despite the bold stimulus programme of the Shinzo Abe government.

Financial Times: Evraz, the Russian steelmaker in which Roman Abramovich is the largest shareholder, has raised a $425 million loan from a syndicate of European banks, in a sign that some western banks are still lending money in the country despite concerns about doing business amid intensifying sanctions.

Financial Times: Shares in Admiral dropped as much as 8% on Wednesday as concerns grew that the car insurer had turned to the debt markets to support a dividend payout that makes it the second-highest yielding stock on the FTSE 100.

Financial Times: Macy’s has lowered its full-year sales forecast, sending shares down 5.5%, after a disappointing second quarter means it is now unlikely to fully recoup losses linked to a bitter winter that battered many US retailers.

Financial Times: Recruitment company PageGroup has become the latest multinational to be hurt by the strong pound even as it reported double-digit gross profit growth in the UK, US and greater China area for the six months to June.

Financial Times: Daisy Group, the British telecoms company, is in talks to be taken private in a £500 million deal by a consortium of large shareholders led by its chief executive.

Financial Times: G4S, the world’s biggest security company, staged a comeback in the first six months of this year, led by new contract wins in emerging and North American markets.

Financial Times: Capital & Regional says footfall in its UK shopping centres portfolio beat the national index in the six months to June, indicating the specialist retail investment company was benefiting from the country’s recovering economy.

Financial Times: The board of African Minerals is considering a possible end to Frank Timis’s role as executive chairman and has pledged to strengthen governance after an internal investigation into whether the businessman benefited from a $50 million payment to a Cyprus-registered iron ore group.

Financial Times: Lookout has raised $150 million from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, in the largest fundraising by a cyber security company so far this year.

Financial Times: Tata Steel blamed a glut of steel imports for the slower than expected recovery of its European division, as net profits at India’s largest private sector steelmaker fell 70% in the first quarter.

Financial Times: Brit, the Lloyd’s of London insurer that floated this year, is planning to write more aviation insurance to take advantage of a sharp rise in premium levels following a series of catastrophes.

Financial Times: Markit, the UK financial data and service provider that listed in New York in June, beat expectations for revenue and earnings in its debut report as a public company.

Financial Times: Tencent, Asia’s most valuable listed technology company, said new Chinese government regulations aimed at limiting chat applications would not hurt its business model, which depends overwhelmingly on drawing users of its popular QQ and WeChat instant messaging apps.

Financial Times: Baring Asset Management has appointed Ken Lambden, the former global head of equities at Schroders, as chief investment officer of the group.

Financial Times: Shares in SeaWorld tumbled 33% on Wednesday after the amusement park group forecast a revenue decline of 6-7% this year, driven in part by negative publicity from a film criticising the treatment of its captive killer whales.

Daily Mail: Lookers said a boom in cheap credit was behind a hike in half-year profits as it looks to continue on the acquisitions trail; Britain’s fourth-largest motor retailer has seen pre-tax profits jump 36% to £40 million, accompanied by a 10% increase in the interim dividend to 0.97p a share.

Daily Mail: Over-50s group Saga is extending its reach to the ranks of affluent young honeymooners, after snapping up luxury holiday group Destinology; Saga will pay around £20 million up front for 75% of the business, with an option to buy the rest of it at a price that will depend on performance.

Daily Express: Sterling fell to a 16-week low against the US dollar and a six-week low against the euro, bringing some relief to hard-pressed British exporters as the pound fell yesterday as financial markets bet on the Bank of England leaving interest rates unchanged until 2015.

The Guardian: Chocolate makers already choking on the rising price of cocoa face another price crunch in commodity markets after warnings of a global shortage of hazelnuts; the price of hazelnuts has increased by more than 60% this year to a 10-year high after bad weather devastated crops in Turkey, the world's biggest producer.

The Guardian: Argentina came out swinging on Wednesday against the US judge overseeing its debt default case, defying a threatened contempt order and dashing market hopes it might soon restart talks with the hedge funds suing the country.

The Guardian: UK profits have slumped by a third at energy company E.ON after a mild winter caused lower demand for heating; the German-owned company, which supplied power to 4.8 million British households and 500,000 businesses in 2013, also said it was concerned about the political crisis in Ukraine and reported a sharp fall in profits from its Russian division.

The Guardian: HSBC has given 15 of its top bankers “fixed pay allowance arrangements” worth £7.1 million under a controversial new pay scheme designed to dodge tough new European Union rules on bankers’ bonuses.

The Daily Telegraph: Land Rover is set to recall 40,000 cars due to 'faulty airbag'; Range Rover Evoque and LR2 SUVs made since 2010 have been recalled in the US after Jaguar Land Rover found a possible fault with the front passenger airbag.

Share tips, comment and bids

Financial Times: Bill Ackman is planning to raise around $4 billion by listing a new investment vehicle in London, in the latest example of a hedge fund manager looking for capital that cannot flee in a crisis.

Financial Times: The Crown Estate, the company that owns and manages the Queen’s property portfolio, has established a £345 million joint venture with a Chinese state-backed property group, Ginko Tree, to acquire one of the UK’s biggest retail parks, Fosse Park.

We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website. You can continue to use the website and we'll assume that you are happy to receive cookies. If you would like to, you can find out more about cookies and managing them at any time here. This site is for Professional Investors only, please read our Risk Disclosure Notice for Citywire’s general investment warnings

We use cookies to improve your experience. By your continued use of this site you accept such use. To change your settings please see our policy.